


Welcome Home

by alba17



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Episode Tag, F/M, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-28 22:38:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5108156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alba17/pseuds/alba17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jemma feels all wrong, it’s Fitz that gets her through.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SuburbanSun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuburbanSun/gifts).



> Takes place before 3.05 but takes that episode into account.

The rush of adrenaline as Fitz’s hand grabs onto hers, loses it— _No!_ —then finds it again to pull her back through the portal. Hurricane winds beat against her ears, her heart slams against her ribs—

 _Will_ —

—gravity somersaults away as rocks batter her body and pummel the unnatural grey-blue sky out of existence, yank her into a hole filled with gravel in a dank, dark cavern—

It smells like home.

Fitz envelopes her, his arm around her shoulders and they’re draped in gravel like an earthen blanket. She reaches for his face, touches it. It feels warm and _human_ , and her hand slides into his hair and tugs like she’s testing whether it’s real.

“Fitz. Am I really here?”

Fitz laughs, face filled with wonder and relief. “Yes!”

“Oh thank god!” She collapses into him and then Coulson, Skye, Bobbi and Mack converge on them like a pack of eager puppies. She’s pulled out of the hole (where _are_ they?) and submerged in a massive group hug. She weeps with happiness and relief.

*

Fighting for survival on an alien planet was so much simpler. 

She’s scrubbed down to the essentials, washed clean like a newborn. Everything is intense, ramped up, her senses so acute that walking into another room is like a visit to a foreign country; the machines beeping, the people talking, so many voices, so loud, looking at her. She tries to calm herself, spend as much time alone as she can, meditate. TV’s a no go, but music is good. Clean clothes never felt so wonderful.

The only time she feels grounded is when Fitz holds her hand, a slim tether to reality.

She feels exposed, everyone’s eyes on her, judging, observing, questioning. They want to know everything that happened, but she can’t talk about it yet. She holds it close, the pain, the trauma, like exposing it to the air would make it disappear as if it never happened, just a dream. She thinks of Will and wants to cry. Was he even real? Did he survive? What really happened on that planet? Now she’s not even sure.

She’ll tell them soon. Just not yet.

“Jemma, do you want a cup of tea?” Fitz asks her. His eyes are full of love and acceptance. He was the only thing that got her through those first few difficult weeks on the other side. She wishes she could act the way he wants her to, the way they all want her to, although she’s not even sure what that would be. 

Every part of her feels wrong.

“I’d love a cup of tea, thank you.” she says. Tea. Tea is good. 

He looks at her for a moment, then comes closer. She goes to him and wraps her arms around his neck and holds tight. Probably tighter than she should. But she can’t help it. “Thank you. Thank you for never giving up. Thank you for saving me. I’d almost given up hope.”

“Jemma.” He strokes her back. ”Jemma. I’d never give up. I knew you’d survive. Because you’re the smartest, most brave person I know.” He buries his face in her neck. “My Jemma,” he murmurs into her skin.

The touch of his lips on her skin makes her stomach flutter with a confused welter of emotions. Her heart aches for Fitz and everything they have between them, everything they’ve gone through. “I’m here now, darling.”

He moves his face into her hair, nuzzling tenderly. She can feel him trembling and he emits a heavy sigh. “It’s all right,” she says, hugging him close.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he says. “I didn’t want to believe it.”

She nods. “I know what you mean. I’d lost hope. Almost.” 

He pulls back and looks at her. “I never stopped hoping. Even if we couldn’t get you back, even we couldn’t find you, I had to try.”

“I know. I can never repay you.”

He makes a dismissive noise. “Never. You don’t owe me for anything. Just you being here is payment enough.” He runs a hand through her ponytail and looks at her with a hint of a smile. He leans in and she senses that he wants to kiss her. Unsure, she looks away and down, her heart rate quickening. But then she gives in and lets it happen because she wants more of this, more of his touch. It makes her feel alive. His lips press against hers and he brings his hand up to her face, and it’s Fitz, it’s Fitz, everything about him familiar and comforting. The kiss is soft and reassuring. She rests her hand on his chest and can feel his heart beat rapidly, life rushing through him. 

This is where she belongs. Fitz’s smile is like the bright sun she missed so much. Her mouth tingles from his kiss and she never wants to be anywhere else.

This is home.

**Author's Note:**

> I claimed this as a pinch hit before I saw the last episode and then, holy crap, they threw a spanner into the Fitzsimmons works. Hopefully this works. Darn you, Will.


End file.
